Memories of a Time Past
by Mrs.CaptainJackSparrow1234
Summary: Iggy looks back on the memory that is still the clearest to him, even after years of living in darkness.   I may add more chapters later, with more memories of the different flock members .


It was dark.

It wasn't the normal kind of darkness that he was used to; it was always dimly-lit where their cages sat, lined up in rows near the back of the lab that they called home sweet home. No, this was a different kind of darkness. He couldn't see a thing; he felt as though his eyes were closed, but he knew that they weren't. He waved his hand in front of his face as he was forced back behind the bars that he'd seen through his entire life, and heard the soft click of the lock as he was trapped inside of them.

It had been midday when they'd come to take him out, pulling him along after them while he stumbled over his own two feet, struggling to keep up with the woman in the white coat. They spoke about him as though he weren't even in the room, strapping him down and dousing him with drugs to put him under. The room was white, bright, starch white like the coats they all wore to hide themselves. He only heard the words 'eyes' and 'improvement', before the noxious fumes they'd placed over his mouth had him spinning in the darkness.

"A failure," Was all he heard as he slowly opened his eyes, but saw nothing at all. His heartbeat began to race; it couldn't have been so long for it to be dark already, could it? But something about this darkness didn't feel right; there was no light at all, from the windows or the dimming light bulbs, from the moon shining outside, from anything. Cold panic seized his chest as they dragged him back to his cage, with him stumbling every few feet in the darkness.

"Iggy?"

He recognized the voice immediately, but he couldn't see her. His head slowly swiveled to the right, where he knew Nudge's cage lay. No one else spoke his name.

"Nudge?" He whispered, and he heard a soft exhale of breath as she no doubt moved closer to the bars.

"Iggy!" She whispered. "You've been gone for so long. Everyone else is asleep. It's dark out now, but I stayed up because I was worried," She said quietly. It was the fewest words he'd ever heard her say. Even if a white coat was around, she was sure to let the words fly. Something about her voice put him on edge.

"Iggy, what did they do to you?" She whispered. He shook his head slowly, struggling to see anything at all in the darkness that had overtaken his eyes.

"I don't know," He said quietly. His heart had begun to race as his eyes searched for her in all of the blackness. Even on the darkest of nights, the moon shone in and let them t least see each other, even a little bit….

"Iggy, why aren't you looking at me?"

The words sent a chill down his spine as he struggled to find his voice again. "Aren't I?" He finally asked quietly, his voice on the verge of breaking. His hands were shaking as he waved them up and down in front of his eyes over and over again, but he saw nothing, not even the slightest movement. He heard a sharp intake of breath from the cage beside him, and then he knew. He knew what had gone wrong.

He couldn't see.

Panic clawed at his chest, making it hard to breathe. Nudge was saying something now, but he barely heard her; he pulled his knees up to his chest and rocked back and forth slowly, taking deep breaths to choke back the sobs that threatened to break free.

"Iggy," Nudge whispered, and he focused on that, just that one word. Her voice was the only thing that kept him from falling into the darkness that had overtaken his senses. Everything was gone; he didn't know where he was, what he couldn't see. He'd always taken it for granted, he supposed; you didn't know what you had until it was gone.

"Iggy, face me," She said softly, but he couldn't move. He couldn't unlock his frozen muscles; he didn't know what to do. "Iggy," She said again, and slowly he turned his body to where her voice was coming from.

"Now, put your hands through the bars," She said softly. His eyes widened slightly, but still he saw nothing. The tears he'd held back began to flow freely, dripping down onto the cold metal below him. "Iggy, reach out your hands," She said again softly, but her voice, too, was trembling. He slowly reached through, but he felt nothing; only air. His heart began to race. He couldn't see; he'd never see the fire in Max's eyes again, the way Nudge's face lit up whenever someone talked to her, the Gasman's bright blue eyes, Fang's dark and silent demeanor. He'd never see Angel's yellow curls again, framing the face that had always been the picture of innocence to him. He'd never see any of it again.

His hands were trembling. He couldn't move; he was lost. And then he felt two warm hands grasp his own.

"It'll be okay, Iggy," Nudge said softly. Her mocha skin covered the pale white of his own, and she silently traced the blue veins she could see underneath, rubbing her thumbs over his cold skin. "I'm right here."

He held on tighter to her hands, tears falling freely from his now sightless eyes. She struggled to cover his hands with her own, though they were so much smaller. He was terrified; he felt lost in a world that no one but him could see. He bit his lip to stifle his sobs, and then he heard her voice once more.

"I'm here, Iggy. I'm right here."

His heartbeat began to slow down as she continued to hold onto his hands, stilling the fear that had turned his blood into ice.

"No one's going to leave you, Iggy," She whispered. "We're all here for you. You're going to be alright."

His tears tasted bittersweet on his lips, but slowly he was able to relax. His eyes closed, but the darkness remained the same. His cries slowly dulled down, and when sleep finally overtook his body, the sun was beginning to rise again.

But even then, Nudge didn't let go.


End file.
